Examining Quantitative Metrics
Associate Professor in Data Science and Genetics at the University of East Anglia.
Academic background in Behavioural Ecology, Genetics, and Insect Pest Control.
I teach Genetics, Programming, and Statistics
A short talk on using quantitative data to measure student success
I hope you end up with more questions than answers after this talk!
What, if any, quantitivative measures predict student success?
Can we use these measures to intervene earlier with students who would otherwise not submit work?
Do Quantitative measures align with student perceptions of success/effort?
Do Quantitative measures align with our perceptions of success/effort?
A cohort of Biological sciences students
Data is from a second year module on statistics and programming
69 students opted-in to measures of:
| Characteristic | Beta | 95% CI1 | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| (Intercept) | 66 | 63, 68 | <0.001 |
| Coursework Hours | 0.07 | -0.15, 0.30 | 0.5 |
| Coursework Days | 0.81 | 0.58, 1.0 | <0.001 |
| Attendance | -1.8 | -6.1, 2.4 | 0.4 |
| Coursework Hours:Attendance | 0.30 | 0.01, 0.60 | 0.045 |
| 1 CI = Confidence Interval | |||
Mean coursework mark 66%
Model accounts for 60% of variance in student attainment
Multiple candidate models were combined to produce an ensemble model that provides the most robust and reliable predictions
Black box - Machine learning
PROS
Maximum predictive ability
Identify and intervene with students
Can be trained on a wide range of data
CONS
Identify key variables
PROS
Transparent
Engages students with decision making
CONS
Less accurate
More difficult to implement?
Studies to compare Quantitative and Qualitative measures of student success
Evalutate student perceptions of requirements or indicators of “academic success”
Larger scale data training to build predictive models
Increasing amounts of data available on student participation and engagement
Student engagement is not as simple as “In-person attendance”
Quantitative markers CAN be used as predictors of academic achievement